Comment on 3:AM

I have resigned as co-editor-in-chief of 3:AM and ended my association with the magazine.

This was not an easy decision; 3:AM has been very, very good to me. I have worked with talented and passionate writers and publishers from around the world – some I now have the privilege of calling friends. I have interviewed authors I have long admired. Also, a number of publishing opportunities have come my way as a direct result of connections I have made through the magazine. My time at 3:AM has taught me much and was also a lot of fun.

3:AM is a passion project for everyone involved – no money changes hands in any direction. The masthead is filled with people who want to promote the discussion of a certain brand of literature and philosophy, and very often those who wrote for us enjoyed the creative freedom the site afforded them – to write about subjects they were passionate about in a form that did not make sense elsewhere. Usually my criteria for accepting a piece was: Is this 3:AM enough? The hard work that has been put into it simply cannot be quantified, and investing in something in this way makes it especially difficult to leave behind. I joined the team not as an academic or even as a “writer” at the time, but primarily as a reader. As such, the fact that we were publishing for an audience of, ultimately, passionate readers was always at the forefront of my own decision making at the journal.

Recent events have left me sad, angry and distressed – especially because none of it was something I was able to influence despite my role at the magazine. I don’t believe we responded sensibly as a collective to any of the criticisms levelled at us, and I also don’t think we addressed our audience when and how we needed to. I did my utmost to ensure that 3:AM was a respectable, authoritative and unique platform – this is how it was when I joined and I wish I could say this is how it was when I left.

I wish Andrew and the team all the best as they work to re-establish 3:AM.

On 2016

Favourite books of 2016 My reading year in review, in which I lament this awful year, is up now at 3:AM.

I’ll be burning thigh bones for the rest of December in the hope of an improved 2017.

On ‘Eight questions for Gerald Murnane’

Gerald Murnane interview

My interview with Gerald Murnane is now up at 3:AM Magazine. My introduction will hopefully go some way in telling the story of how this came together.

Big thanks to Ivor Indyk from Giramondo for facilitating the exchange and to K.T. Kahn, my buddy and fellow editor at 3:AM, for the editorial work. And, of course, to Gerald – for the generosity with his time and with his responses.

On 3:AM + one or two other things

Thought it was about time I put in writing here that I have joined the mighty 3:AM Magazine as a reviews/nonfiction editor, working closely with my good buddy K. Thomas Kahn.

Been a reader of the journal, sometime contributor and an admirer of the current editorial team (Andrew Gallix, David Winters and Richard Marshall to begin with) as well as former editors (Susan Tomaselli and Darran Anderson) and their contribution to the vast galaxy of literature for some time. Needless to say, being part of it is a thrill and an honour.

(My call for submissions.)

The thing that I’ve already found pleasantly surprising is the connections made — from reading somebody’s writing, from working on that writing together, from the sharing and discussion of ideas, from a simple message in my inbox; connections with people who, frankly, I’m unlikely to have interacted with otherwise.

Maybe this is me finding out that that’s what literature is about too.